Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-10-01
ON PIANO PLAYING.
'C,briolet" Tells Something About the
Trials and Treble-lations Of an Am
ateur Piano Ticker.
The Old Piano and its Iuornste Legs
The Neishbor'> Child and its Sweet,
Sweet PiayiHg-How to En-
tertain n Party.

| The Nei.hbor's Child and its Sweet.
Sweet Piaying-How to En-
tertain n Party.
Sometimes. in a modest way. do little
plain family playing on the piano 40, writes
.'Cabriolet." in the current number of
TerdS Siftings. 1t is one way OF chasing
dull care and the neighbors' children away.
II soothss me when l am tired and cause $
the landlord of the house on the LEFT 10 re-
duce the rent IN order 10 keep his tenants
from fleeing as bird.
Our piano Is not of the newest make and
has no forget me nots carved OH the calves
Of it legs. but is surrounded by n wealth OF
associations and covered with a bright and
pretty horse-blanket my girl crow-shade for
me. The old piano has stayed with Ms
through thick and thin and has been mas
cot. Since it came into our possession and
learned to let my hands fondle with the
keys, death has not entered our family,
though it has laid its icy hands on many of
the neghbors. And yet PLAY on.
The Old piano has witnessed my rise as a
player. There was time when my roper
tOirc was composed exclusively of a gem
known As Peter. Peter. Pumpkin Eater"
This is simple little melody and it takes
only one egg to make 1t. II the ighbor
who throws the egg possesses any integrity
and accuracy of aim. The piece is easier
to play than listen to. You extend one
long emacia:ed finger of the right hand and
press firmly on the b fiat key, which is
black and usually has hunk of gum on it.
Then you touch each black note in success
sion till you get to the quarter-pole an
octave south. varying YOUR descent by play
ing q fiat, alias F sharp, in loud and
naughty minner with your left forehnger
on the bass. When you come to the pas
sage in the selection which depicts Peter in
the act of incarcerating his unruly wife in a
pumpkin shell. you must let loose the founts
of passion and throw all the expression
possible into your playing. to offset any dis
heveled vegetables the neighbors may throw
in TO you.
l next learned to play "Home. Sweet
Home" with variations in the words ami
music, both of which were indigenous to
me. Op. AZ. Some performers play this
number without changing the bass during
the evening. This is all wrong. and no one
can expect to become a virtuoso and virtuo
on the piano till he learns to change his
toilet in the bass clef at least once during
selection. My variations on ''Home. Sweet
Home" are all in the bass. They consist
of beginning on the white natural in the
inception OF the trouble and suddenly msk
ing q rush for the black c sharp a half inch
above by a series of brilliant runs and ca
denzas before my audience realizes that it
is listening to no ordinary instance of piano
mauler. play the newly-acQuired { sharp
clear Oh to the end, and by this time the
audience have usually concluded that for
the present their homes are sweeter than
mine.
There is a neighbor's child who comes
over to play our piano once in while. She
is little girl in the matter of sex. and il
only eighteen months in this country or any
other save that bourne whence no traveller
ever goes back to. Her method of playing
suggests Wagner in the cOntralto and sui
eide i'm the bass. She is sonata that she
simply pounds on it with both fists. An
other cha ,teristic Of her playing is It's eX
treme Sweetness. She always has hunk
Of bread and jam when she is performing.
and when she gets through find the ers,-
while humble little piano fearfuly stuck
up and iicult to handle. When she fin
ishes giving recital. find the keyboard
all set for dinner and ready to be served.
1t is quite annoying to sock your finger
into a lump of grape jelly while you are
playing "Hsrk the Lisp OF Wille's Pants
As the Poor Child interfereS." Neither is
it pleasant TO have your hand slip into a
pool of creamery butter and fall down just
as you are mingIing with the tenderest pas
sage of ''Grinding Up My uncle's Breath"
Last June We had our piano cleaned. Some !
folks might call i; tuned, but insist on |.
the original tirm. The piano man came |
and 10 * ont the key board. like dentist |
would yank ont set of false teeth. and |
then proceeded TO remove the hair-pins, |
bread crustS. peppermint candy and desd !
which the neighbours child had |
brought In one day. He took all of these |
things cut of the pianos inside repert0ry, |
and there was an immediate Improvement |
in the imp,e nent. II did not sound so |
much like throwing bricks into ci>tern as
It had. and the local paper MAJ ket quota
tions said, ''rents trlner." If We can keep |
the baby from greasing the bass arpeggois |
aud the treble cadenzas with its midday |
meal hereafter. the piano will stand some |
wear and tear Yet.
Deituk 10 ttidl aiii VI
parties who do not know anything aboUi |
music and Yet insist OH inviting friends t. |
listen while they prove it. l play eatir.iy |
by my right ear, with some little incidental
assistance from the fore fingers of my re-
spective hands. My musical genius IS
family tradition. My parents get me into |
4 county fair once wh'la was yet wearing
kaS | had rar
having heard any muse than the slight risk
incidental to going 10 Sunday school. At /
the fair turned my back 10 the FLYING
Dutchman and the lemonade lairs and was
at once by the organs. | cried
and stretched out M tiny hands To toss one j
up in the air and fOndle it. My father then ,
placed NE upon the stool and commenced ,
the bellows with his buniOn.
Pausing only an instant to cast /
One plying look at the crowd |
and to rub the last of my ice-cream
,audy on the middle register. commenced
NY first tune. Many of the people were so
moved by the music that they hurried over ,
INTO the shadow Of the threshlng machine |
where they could hear without disturbing .
me. played the tune clear through and .
then got scared and commenced to cry and |
wanted to go home. This thought had not .
occurred to me as soon as it had 10 the |
crowd.
A few nights ag" attended party.
went with my mind made up not to play |
the piano. After a while conversation |
Jagged tagged and died. People couldn't |
talk. Then they commenced importuning /
me to play. They begged, entreated. i'm
plOred. The hostess came in with tears in |
her eyes and whispered in my ear to play |
for heavens sake. as everyone was stupid /
and the party would be failure.
Well. finally played.
l hadn't let down more than ten bars of
music until the crowd woke up to the sen